The opening track on St. Vincent’s eponymous album is an autobiographical story of Annie Clark, the woman behind St. Vincent, running naked from a rattlesnake in West Texas. This is the perfect way to start an album that is strange and beautiful, revelling in creating a different world to accompany Clark’s triumphant guitar playing. Clark is an incredible, multi-instrumental artist who is different from any other musician out there.
Her music is legitimate art into which she has poured her soul. Incredible lyrics such as “Remember the time we went and snorted the piece of the Berlin Wall that you’d extorted” from the beautiful ballad “Prince Johnny” and “Oh what an ordinary day / Take out the garbage, masturbate” from “Birth In Reverse” are as brilliant as they are common.
While the album is fantastic throughout, the real brilliance shines in the first five songs. “Rattlesnake,” “Birth In Reverse,” “Prince Johnny,” “Huey Newton” and “Digital Witness” are more imaginative and better music than anything else released this year. “St.Vincent” is destined to lead the “Album of the Year” category already, despite it being only Feb.
The opening track, “Rattlesnake,” creates a new world for Clark. She described it herself in an interview with Pitchfork media earlier this month as the beginnings of a “new mythology.” Her voice warbles over a synthy, keyboard-laden beat that is almost as addictive as Clark’s voice. As mentioned earlier, “Birth In Reverse” begins with one of the more brilliant, funny couplets that has been recorded in a while. The track continues this streak of brilliance with a triumphantly funky guitar solo that Clark tears apart. Her traditional backing band for this song complements her perfectly, ascending with her voice and completely obliterating the almost robotic cadence of the song.
“Prince Johnny” is a fairly traditional song by Clark’s standards. It is a love song addressed to an unidentified lover. Her poetic lyrics complement the angelic backing vocals perfectly and it almost feels like a better version of a Lana Del Rey song. It is a lushful, rhythmic ballad with a melancholic, detailed narrative that puts Clark’s vocals on full display. Her fluctuating vocals give off a religious feel and the smooth guitar-tinged beat enhances the tone of the song perfectly.
The next two songs are both genius tracks with surprising twists. “Huey Newton” starts with a strange electronic beginning, but ultimately becomes an almost heavy metal song with absolutely incredible guitar playing and shrieking vocals. A hard guitar solo comes out of almost nowhere to absolutely blow the listener away. Lead single “Digital Witness” is an ode to the Facebook era of oversharing. It is carried by a thumping, synthesized beat and Clark makes her message clear: She “wants all of your mind.” She does not want to share her love with anything, not even social media.
The next six songs are all great pieces of music in their own right, but these first five are absolutely captivating. “I Prefer Your Love” is another ballad that again focuses on religions, but in a negative way. Her voice floats over a soft beat as she questions the nature of life, love and family. “Regret” does a great job of switching styles between a fluid, harmonic hook to hard guitar solos throughout. Clark builds anticipation with her soft voice and then switches the tempo with her own guitar playing. “Psychopath” is a more poppy song that resembles an old Lauryn Hill song with less funk.
St. Vincent has created another masterful album that transcends both genre and style. It is a work of art that has to be truly delved into to be appreciated. This is an album that deserves your full attention. Do not worry about it growing old—the styles are far too different to ever become boring. This album truly deserves all the praise it is bound to receive in the coming months. It is filled with fantastic songs throughout that touch every range of substance and emotion. Clark’s style might not be for everyone, but “St. Vincent” is truly fine art that deserves as much appreciation as possible.
